Glucosylated sesquiterpene alcohols from Fraxinus griffithii

Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Fraxinus griffithii has led to the isolation of two new glucosylated acyclic sesquiterpene alcohols, griffithosides D (1) and E (2), along with iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides. The molecular structures of these compounds were elucidated using NMR, MS and other spectroscopic techniques, as well as comparison with literature data. The isolated compounds were tested for radical-scavenging activity and cytotoxicity against A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells and Leishmania major parasites.     

Direct drug metabolism monitoring in a live single hepatic cell by video mass spectrometry

The metabolism of anti-breast cancer drug, tamoxifen, in a single human hepatocellular carcinoma cell, HepG2, was directly monitored by a video-mass spectroscope. The cytoplasm, a vacuole or nucleus of the cell was directly sucked by a nano-spray tip under a video-microscope, and then was introduced into a mass spectrometer. Unchanged drug molecules were found in cytoplasm and a vacuole, but the metabolites were only found in the cytoplasm. This direct detection of drug metabolites in a live single cell is useful for speedy drug metabolism monitoring.     

Distance Between Qubit States with Initial System-Environment Correlation

The time-evolution of the trace distance between two qubit states in the presence of an initial correlation with an environment is investigated by means of the exactly solvable model of qubit and environmental system, where there is at most one excitation in the whole system, It is found that the trace distance can exceed its initial value during the time-evolution under certain conditions if the qubit is initially entangled with the environment. Furthermore the Bures distance between two qubit states is investigated. It is seen that the time-evolution of the Bures distance is quite different from that of the trace distance.     

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships in a series of ethenesulfonamide derivatives, a novel class of endothelin receptor antagonists.

In the previous paper, we described a series of the 2-arylethenesulfonamide derivatives, a novel class of ETA-selective endothelin (ET) receptor antagonists, including the compounds 1a, b. Compound 1a showed excellent oral antagonistic activities and pharmacokinetic profiles, and the monopotassium salt of 1 (YM-598 monopotassium) is in clinical trials. In this paper, we wish to report the investigation of the further details of structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the 2-phenylethenesulfonamide region in 1a. It was found that methyl substitutions at the 2-, 4- and 6-positions of the phenyl group in 1a led to the discovery of the ET(A)/ET(B) mixed antagonist (6s) with an IC50 of 2.2 nM for the ET(A) receptor. We also found that introduction of an ethyl group to the 1-position of the ethenyl group in 1a gave the ET(A) selective antagonist (6u) with an oral endothelin antagonistic activity in rats.     

Asymmetric borane reduction of ketones promoted by menthopyrazole‐zncl2 complex

The enantioselective reduction of ketones was accomplished by borane in the presence of pyrazole derivatives, particularly 2‐methoxymethyl‐3‐phenyl‐1‐menthopyrazole (8). The catalysis of zinc chloride makes it possible to lower the reaction temperature below 0 °C, and to promote enantioselectivity.     

A novel disaccharide,wilforibiose from cynanchum wilfordi h(=emsl)

The structure of a novel disaccharide, wilforibiose, isolated from the root of $\text{Cynanchum wilfordi}$ H(=emsl), has been established by spectral data.     

Cyclic strength of imperfectly saturated sands and analysis of liquefaction

The simplified method of analysis to assess liquefaction potential of a given sand deposit is briefly introduced in the first part of this paper. Then, recent advances in the laboratory testing for evaluating liquefaction resistance are described with a particular emphasis on the sand partly saturated with water. As a means to identify the degree of saturation which is applicable for both field deposits and laboratory samples, the use of the longitudinal wave (P-wave) is proposed based on a suite of data obtained from the triaxial tests in the laboratory. It is recommended that the non-destructive P-wave measurements be carried out first to determine the degree of saturation, and then the cyclic triaxial tests involving large destructive strains should be performed to determine the cyclic strength on the same sample of the sand. In order to demonstrate usefulness of the proposed approach, two sets of undisturbed samples were secured from two sites; one is located in Sakai-minato city which has suffered severe liquefaction at the time of the 2000 Tottoriken-Seibu earthquake and the other site is located in Koshigaya city, Saitama, where likelihood of liquefaction to occur in a future earthquake is of major concern. Penetration tests and in-situ velocity logging were also conducted at these two sites. By adjusting the P-wave velocity of the undisturbed samples in the laboratory so as to have the same velocity in the field, the in-situ state of saturation was reproduced in the laboratory samples. Then, the cyclic loading tests were conducted to determine the cyclic strength of intact samples. The results of the laboratory tests as above were incorporated into the simple method of liquefaction analysis described in the first section of this paper. The analysis seems to yield results which are in reasonably good agreement with what was observed at the time of the earthquake.     

Mössbauer Spectroscopic Study of a Mural Painting from Morgadal Grande,Mexico

Hyperfine Interactions - In this study, 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy has been applied to fragments of a mural painting excavated at Morgadal Grande, Mexico, to characterize the pigments used. A...     

Trends of optically fed wireless communication systems

Mobile communication systems such as cellular radio and PHS are rapidly penetrating into our real life, and have gained many subscriber numbers. User demands will be growing to higher data rates that support multimedia mobile computing demands, such as graphics and motion pictures. These demands require more band width and/or spectrum utilization efficiency enhancement, and optically fed communication systems are considered to be one of the most powerful solutions. In this paper, the roles, technologies and application examples of optically fed communication systems are described. In the final part, prospects for systems and requirements for photonic devices are mentioned.     

Disposition of ipriflavone (TC-80) in rats and dogs

Oral 14C-ipriflavone was absorbed by rats to give a maximum plasma 14C level at 1.5 h and a half-life of 5.8 h. In dogs, after po dosing, the plasma 14C peaked at 0.5 h, followed by gradual decline. The plasma of both animals contained mostly metabolites, with small amounts of unchanged ipriflavone. In rats, 14C was distributed widely in tissues, with relatively high concns. in the liver, kidney and gut. Distribution in rat thigh bone of unmetabolized ipriflavone was also demonstrated. 14C-Ipriflavone was eliminated mostly as metabolites within 48 and 72 h, respectively, in rats and dogs. Rats excreted more 14C in urine than in feces, whereas the reverse was noted in dogs. Biliary excretion and reabsorption of 14C were also obvious in both animals.